At birth, doctors suggested I would be mentally disabled, in addition to the physical injuries I suffered. I have never been described as normal. “High-functioning autism” (HFA) is just another way to describe a few aspects of “me.” The autistic me is the creative me, the curious me, the complete me.
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Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy 9 year old son has PDD/NOS and gets very upset when his room is clean and organized. He told me tonight that it makes the world feel all wrong, and makes him very unhappy to the point of tears. When I say messy, I mean there are toys on every spot on the floor, flat spaces and even old papers jammed anywhere. Can you possibly explain why this is comforting to him? Thank you so much!
Susan
I will post my answer to this today. It is a good question about the sense of control some people with ASDs and other differences seek to maintain.
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I have a question concerning my own 9 year old daughter, similar diagnosis to your own. She is considered HFA, though her abilities and reactions are 'scattered all over the spectrum' (low, mid, high functions).
My question is: Am I wrong to treat her as I do my other children? She is the oldest child of 5. I do not give her a lot of leeway based on her diagnosis--what I mean is, her autism is not allowed to be an excuse for bad behavior.
She is aware of what is acceptable and what is not--no hitting other people, no cursing, no destroying the house-- and she receives the same types of punishments as her siblings. We do time outs and grounding from favored activities. Spanking is very rare and only as a last resort (she received a pop to the bottom for stabbing her brother with a fork)
I realize the difference between bad behavior and meltdowns from stress, along with other coping mechanisms in autism. My husband thinks I am wrong to 'expect so much' from her. I think that she's very intelligent and that I would be failing her if I just said 'she has autism' every time she misbehaved without giving her punishment or rewards.
Am I in the wrong? Am I damaging her by treating her like a typical kid?
Thanks and sorry for such a long question,
Julie
Mama Stick - I will compose an answer to your question as a blog entry within the week. I have a few projects to finish and I want to answer the question as completely as possible.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to revise my answer to "Mama Stick" in another post. See my previous response, but understand that missed the important essence of her question.
ReplyDeleteOriginal response:
http://theautisticme.blogspot.com/2011/05/should-autistic-child-be-treated-like.html
I have autism and I just found this blog from searching on Google for something about autisn/aspergers/PDD. I have always been different but didn't what made me who I am today. I've been in special ed class(the one where the down syndrome/mentally challenged students go to). I feel stupid because I'm in this class and my thoughts were "I want to be smart". I was in two resource classes last year and I did great! They were "US History 1 and "English 1". Next year I'm going to be in 4 resource classes and 1 normal class, which is "music appreciation. I can't wait! I'm getting to be more mature then I was the last few years. I would hit bottles to my chin, which is more typically for babies then a 17 year old would act. I make my bed and can do work around the house. I had special interest in subjects such as sports and the world. The special interest sticks with autistic mind more then neurotypical minds for the most part. I will ask more questions later but what has been the biggest challenged for you in the adult life you're in now?
ReplyDeleteI will write about the biggest challenges in a post in a week or two. I have limited Internet access for the next two weeks, unfortunately. It is a good question, but remember my challenges might not be the same as any other person's.
ReplyDeleteYo have to check out
ReplyDeletewww.youtube.com/autismrocksuk
Thank you
Hi! I'm looking for some help! I'm a 16 year old Junior in High School, working on writing a novel on Autism; but the problem becomes that I don't have a lot of information on Autism to confidently write about it. Can you give me some ideas I can use? Even personal stories would help sooo much.
ReplyDeleteLauren: You might ask this on the Facebook page. I'd also encourage you to read every memoir available by autistic individuals. The memoirs are a good source for understanding individual experiences.
ReplyDeletemy brother andres has autism and he needs to see a dentist but were poor and we dont have know any other way to see a dentist. can you suggest any programs that could help . oh, i live in NC.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteFor medical care issues, you might contact the state office of the Autism Society of America (http://www.autismsociety-nc.org/). They maintain a list of healthcare providers and non-profit organizations that help provide affordable (and sometimes free) services.
For some reason, the system deleted what it thought were two duplicates, and therefore "spam" posts from Hannah, author of a novel with autistic characters. The system saw two messages and deleted both posts when I was trying to remove only one.
ReplyDeletePlease email me and I'll respond.
I enjoy reading your blog. I've just published a novel about four families coping after their children are diagnosed with autism. I have a son on the spectrum and have spent a lot of time around people with ASD and have learned a lot from them.
DeleteI thought it might interest you. Here is a link to the Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/If-Could-Tell-You-Novel/dp/1936467267/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326905252&sr=1-1
Let me know if you would like to receive a copy.
Take care.
Best,
Hannah